Tower in talks over Micron fab

LONDON – Specialty foundry Tower Semiconductor Ltd., which trades as TowerJazz, is in discussions with memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc. over the possible acquisition of Micron's 200-mm wafer fab at Kiryat Gat, Israel, according to a local report.

In December 2012 Micron (Boise, Idaho) reportedly formed plans to cut about 500 out of 1,300 jobs at the wafer fab during 2013. Micron also said that it planned to close or sell the plant within two years, according to a recent TechTime report.

Tower (Migdal Haemek, Israel) is now in talks over the possibility of acquiring the fab, the report said.

The fab was built by Intel in 1999 as a production site for Pentium processors. In 2008 it transferred to Numonyx NV, a joint venture between Intel and STMicroelectronics focused on flash memory. The fab transferred to the ownership of Micron when Micron acquired Numonyx in 2010.

The fab is now used to make 45-nm and 65-nm NOR flash memory chips on 200-mm diameter wafers, the report said.

A spokesperson for Tower Semiconductor said the company is always looking for opportunities that can strengthen the growth of the specialty foundry, but declined to comment on the possibility of a deal with Micron. A spokesperson for Micron also declined to comment.